1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of electronic organizers and communications devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to combined electronic organizers and communication devices especially well suited to be disposed in automobiles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Outside salespersons, who account for a large percentage of total sales in many product lines, have heretofore been a generally "forgotten" portion of the business community when it comes to electronic assistance. These salesmen have two fairly distinct needs. One need is for a means to collect, manipulate, and retrieve information. The second need is for a means to communicate with, for example, the home office and customers and clients.
The first need can be, and has been, addressed by "daytimers," that is, paper address books and calendars. Such books and calendars are high maintenance items; entries can be smudged or written over to illegibility; pages can be lost or damaged by rain or other liquids; and, very significantly, such books and calendars are hard to back up--if one is lost, it is difficult, at the every least, to replace it.
Electronic, as opposed to paper, capture of data has advantages in that back up copies of the data can be made and kept in various different places, reducing the likelihood of total loss. Electronically captured data can be manipulated very easily, and presented in multiple ways if desired. This capability can ensure that current and historical data is not confused, rendered illegible, or otherwise made useless.
In the electronic data processing area, notebook computers have evolved so that they can keep address and appointment information. However, such computers still suffer lack of easy portability, and they have limited battery life. Likewise, personal digital assistants ("PDA's") have heretofore evolved so that they can readily keep information needed by outside salespersons and other such mobile professionals. PDA's, or personal information managers ("PIM's"), are hand held devices generally including a processor and a memory, and a primary user interface in the form of a pressure sensitive screen. PDA's or PIM's (and those two terms are used interchangeably throughout this document) have advantages including small size and weight relative to notebook computers, and the fact that they deal with information electronically. However, many people still consider PDA's to be too large and heavy to conveniently carry around.
Regarding communication capability, both notebook computers and PDA's have heretofore been provided with modems and interfaces for telephone line connection and communication, provided with cellular telephone interfaces for wireless communication, and provided with infrared link means for optical communication. These capabilities, although desirable and good, have not made notebook computers or PDA's any easier to carry. Paper address books and calendars communicate only by being read.
Mobile professionals also have communication needs involving voice as opposed to data communication. To address these needs, cellular telephones and pagers have become popular options. The cellular telephone is used mainly for outgoing calls from a car. The pager is used for receiving call requests.
In general, at the present time, all of the foregoing options and accompanying pros and cons have led mobile professionals to carry daytimers, cellular telephones and pagers. Even though it would be highly desirable to receive, manipulate, store and communicate "daytimer" data electronically, there has not heretofore been developed a product that has been perceived as being so convenient and easy to use that it has replaced the daytimer/cellular telephone/page triumvirate. It is a shortcoming and deficiency of the prior art that there has not yet been developed such a product.